Today’s blog discussion is legal issues when publishing news and how to avoid them. There are many legal issues you have to consider for multiple platforms and this blog will educate you on how to protect yourself from stirring any trouble within the law and ethics.

Starting with the basics, we’re going to discuss libel and slander and the differences between the two. Libel is defined as, by Hayes (2023), “a piece of writing that contains bad and false things about a person” whereas slander, is defined as by the same source as “a similar legal concept, involves defamatory speech that is not written or broadcast.” The two are commonly mistaken for one another but are not to be confused, so it is important to remember that slander is spoken and libel is written; to avoid these issues, it is vital that when publishing or broadcasting any sort of news that you have proper evidence to support statements and that what you put out to the public isn’t defamatory or untrue.

Copyright is a large factor to consider in publishing, it is important to remember what your rights are and the rights of other people’s work. Gill Dennis (2020) explains copyright as it “gives authors of works rights to control the use or commercial exploitation of the works that they have created.” The rights to a piece of work can be sold or transferred, however if not, it is the initial author/creator has the right to decide who adapts, copies, lends or sells copies of their work. Copyright infringement is usually a civil offence case if the offence is committed, meaning the offender could pay a fine of up to £50,000 or could be sentenced to up to six months in prison, so it is important to ensure you have permission for anyone’s work that you are publishing or ensuring you are using original work if not; to ensure a piece of work is original it must pass the originality test. Anything from artistic work, film, pictures, music, broadcasts, software and written work can be copyrighted according to the UK Government website (2015) so there is a vast array of pieces that need to be reviewed before publishing your news article.

Moral rights are an interlinking factor with copyright, Mira T et al (2006) explains that “ Moral rights are rights of creators of copyrighted works generally recognized in civil law jurisdictions and, to a lesser extent, in some common law jurisdictions.” Moral rights are the right to making something public, preserving integrity and protecting a producer’s/artist’s reputation, so when publishing news, ensure you consider this when using someone’s work, it is important in your reputation as a publisher that you respect and credit the producer of the work you’re including in your piece.

News of the World are a great example of a media outlet that ended due to failure of ethical practice and abiding by laws. In July 2011, News of the World closed after their phone hacking scandal where they had been found a decade earlier to have tampered with the voicemail inbox of the missing teenager at the time, Milly Dowler, who was later found to be murdered; this also unraveled that the private investigator that was hired to do the intercepting had also been accused of doing this to numerous families of deceased British service personnel.This scandal resulted in ninety people being arrested from the organisation, only thirty people being cleared and two hundred people losing jobs. Following this scandal led the Leveson Inquiry, according to Mark Sweeney (2018) this inquiry consisted of two parts in the following statement“The first part of the inquiry looked at the culture, practices and ethics of the press. The second part was meant to be an investigation into the relationship between journalists and the police.” The enquiry cost £5.4 million out of tax payers money and concluded that “the inquiry found that although there was no widespread corruption of the police by the press, politicians and the media had been too close, and press behaviour had at times been outrageous.” according to Barber (2018). This was a large scale ethical issue in the media that affected a large number of people and it is important to take note of how impactful it can be to neglect ethical practice, so when you are publishing your news article, remember the five media ethics, which consist of humanity, accountability, accuracy, independence, fairness and impartiality and truth and accuracy to avoid this issue.

If you are publishing something through broadcasting, it is important to note that there are regulations put in place by the statuary media. Ofcom is the main regulator in the UK, according they regulate television sectors such as the BBC, radio, mobiles and telecoms. On Ofcom’s online website, it explains its duties which are that they “help to make sure people across the UK are satisfied with what they see and hear on TV and radio, and that programmes reflect the audiences they serve. We consider every complaint we receive from viewers and listeners. Often, we investigate further and we sometimes find broadcasters in breach of our rules.” Children are by protected from harm and material seen as inappropriate by Ofcom and that is why the watershed is put in place, which means adult suitable content, for example swearing, is only allowed to be broadcasted after 9pm in the UK.

Consider publish interest in publishing, remember that it isn’t to do what the public are merely interested in but rather the welfare and wellbeing of the general public. Fair use plays into public interest and is defined as by Stim (2019) as “a defense against a claim of copyright infringement. If your use qualifies as a fair use, then it would not be considered an infringement.” This means it allows free use of “substantial extracts” such as private research, reviews, and the reporting of current events with copyright. Copyright does not equal privacy and therefore you can take a picture of anyone in a public place without their permission and publish it. However, ethically you should seek their permission before publishing, especially with children as all sorts of issues such as safeguarding can arise from this, so keep this in mind when you are taking images for your publishing material as you want to prevent harm from any individuals included in your piece. Permission and consent are factors that are needed to be considered in publishing, whether that is with music, film, videos or even information sources from someone else; if you are obtaining information from someone you should state that you are a reporter.

As a journalist, you need to take into account ethics in media and journalism; SBU Online (2022) explains “journalism ethics is founded on the belief that human beings deserve respect and truth. Journalists must exercise compassion and avoid unnecessary intrusiveness. They must also gain legal access to information and respect an individual’s consent and right to refuse information.” Elaborating on this, if you are a journalist in the sports industry, the principles are that you lack bias, respect teams and clubs, attain the correct research and knowledge ahead of interviews and report fairly. The five principles of ethical journalism have already been listed above in this blog but as a journalist it is important you remember them, in this industry you are working to produce what the people want, so it important you do it in the right way.

Freedom of speech, although should be clear, is a seemingly grey area. The idea of freedom of speech is that an individual is allowed to say whatever they want whenever they want however this is not the case, according to Amnesty International UK (2020) “governments have an obligation to prohibit hate speech and incitement. And restrictions can also be justified if they protect specific public interest or the rights and reputations of others.” so you can’t actually say just anything, you have to be careful you aren’t producing hate speech, slander or something that can affect others. Amnesty International (2020) furthered onto this by stating “journalists and bloggers face particular risks because of the work they do. Countries therefore have a responsibility to protect their right to freedom of speech. Restrictions on Newspapers, TV stations, etc can affect everyone’s right to freedom of expression.” No matter what platform you are using in your journalism work, ensure you are abiding by the regulations for your sector and know that you aren’t just allowed to say or write whatever you want, it has to be in the interest of the people.

To conclude this blog, the key advice to be taken would be that as a journalist, you should really take into account what you are putting out into the media; there are important checks that need to be put in place to not only protect yourself but others from any negative effects of your work. Any work that you are using that isn’t yours needs fit copyright requirements, ensure what you are putting out into the media is true and has reliable evidence to support it and consider ethical issues that could occur when publishing and what needs to be put in place to avoid them, such as consent and privacy. By completing the right checks, not only will you avoid trouble legally and ethically, but it will help your reputation as a publisher and will help you grow throughout your career. I hope this blog has been useful in educating you on the laws and issues in media and how to protect yourself and others, just remember what has been said and you’ll be guaranteed success.

Amnesty International UK (2020) What is free speech? One of the most important human rights explained., Amnesty International UK. Available at: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/free-speech-freedom-expression-human-right (Accessed: 18 April 2023).

Barber, J. (2018) The Leveson Inquiry wrapped up early, so what does this mean for free speech and privacy?, EachOther. Available at: https://eachother.org.uk/leveson-inquiry-wrapped-early-mean-free-speech-privacy/ (Accessed: 15 April 2023).

Dennis, G. (2020) UK copyright law: The basics, Pinsent Masons. Available at: https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/guides/copyright-law-the-basics (Accessed: 13 April 2023). 

Hayes, A. (2023) Libel meaning: Vs. slander, how to prove, Faqs, Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/libel.asp#:~:text=Libel%20is%20a%20category%20of,protected%20against%20claims%20of%20libel. (Accessed: 13 April 2023).

Home (2023) Ofcom. Available at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/home (Accessed: 15 April 2023). 

Ofcom (2023) What is Ofcom?, Ofcom. Available at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/what-is-ofcom (Accessed: 15 April 2023). 

‌

SBU online (2022) The importance of ethics in journalism, Online Masters Programs from St. Bonaventure University. Available at: https://online.sbu.edu/news/importance-ethics-journalism#:~:text=Journalism%20ethics%20is%20founded%20on,and%20right%20to%20refuse%20information. (Accessed: 17 April 2023). 

Service, G.D. (2015) How copyright protects your work, GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/copyright (Accessed: 15 April 2023). 

Stim, R. and law, R.S. at (2021) What is fair use?, Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center. Available at: https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/ (Accessed: 17 April 2023). 

Sweeney, M. (2018) Leveson 2 explained: what was it meant to achieve?, The Guardian. Available at: https://amp.theguardian.com/media/2018/mar/01/leveson-2-explained-what-was-it-meant-to-achieve (Accessed: 15 April 2023). 

T., S.R.M. (2014) Copyright and creative freedom: A study of post-socialist law reform. London: Routledge.